Quarantine Zone: Townsville
Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff girls or anything that relates to them. They are the property of Cartoon Network and Craig McCracken. I do own the ideas for this story however. I would like to thank certain authors and movies for inspiring me in doing this kind of fanfic.
A/N: This story is almost of a Resident Evil/dawn of the dead spin off for the PPG and RRB. This would relate to something horrible happening in Townsville, and the main characters will have to rely on what they know in order to survive. NOTE: Deaths of some main characters will result. Don't continue if you're squeamish about this. Besides that, please enjoy the story. This story is rated M for graphic violence, horror and Gore, and mild language.
Chapter 4: Hell on Earth
Brick woke up fitfully in the night. He could not sleep very well because of the noise of the undead on the surface. He also could not believe that everyone else they knew, was probably among the dead on the surface. He looked over the sleeping body of Blossom and smiled reluctantly. "At least we're all alright for the time being, together." He laid Blossom down on the subway seat as he got up to take a walk around the station. A couple hours back, Brick and the others have piled the corpses they found in the station on an unmanned subway train that was bound for the northern part of town. They piled the corpses inside, set a makeshift trigger over the engine controls at the driver's compartment, and opened the north tunnel to let the subway car leave the station. As soon as it left, they sealed the tunnel off again.
"At least we don't have to worry about any of the corpses getting up and killing us. What now? We need our chemical X to restore us. Or we need to get to the quarantine. If only there's a way to get outside information." He spoke to himself quietly as he made sure not to wake the others as he walked around the station. Brick stopped by a phone booth and took the yellow pages out of its case. "Let's see, guns and baits, Uncle Joe's Ammo. Macro Industries. These are ammunition shops and a shop that sells lab equipment. They are all in the vicinity of 5th street…" Brick muttered as he read the listings. "How are we supposed to get there?" He thought.
"James! James! Come in! James! Damnit!" Commander Henry Quinn muttered in the radio after he had lost contact with the armored truck his brother was in. Just then, a trooper rushed into his tent to report something serious. "Sir, you will not believe this, but we are dealing with the Zern again!" Henry Quinn was so shocked that he dropped the mug of coffee he was holding. The silence was suddenly shattered by the sound of a shattering mug and the exclaiming of surprise from the commanding officer. "How is this possible?" He asked with extreme concern. The commander went to his table and picked up his holster. He strapped it around his waist, grabbed his combat helmet off its rack and joined the trooper outside towards the quarantine line.
Brick knew that survival was going to be hard job. There was still one train left in the station and it could be reversed to travel in the other direction. He checked the map and was glad a stop was near the destination they wanted. But before they decide to leave, he must make sure they are ready to handle the situation. Brick went over the stockpile of ammunition and weapons they had placed on one of the benches. "4 pistols, a shotgun and an assault rifle." "4 clips for each pistol, 2 magazines for the rifle and about 24 shells for the shotgun. Will that be enough?" he counted to himself. He then nodded, grabbed the assault rifle and slung it on his shoulders. "I'll let the others rest for a little longer. In one hour, we'll move."
The automated machine gun turrets were gunning down hordes of zombies at the quarantine line. The zombies that got really close were the Zern-XY variants. The machine guns kept nailing them in the heads with deadly precision, but they still managed to get a little bit closer before being taken down. Sometimes, the zombies would leap out of the turrets targeting and get even further, only to be gun down by the guards behind the quarantine line. "Sir, we should send for the duranium alloy walls to backup the laser fences, remember what happened to Outpost Delta in Kyoto?" A trooper spoke to commander Quinn as he observed the battle. "Do it then!" Quinn said as he gave his subordinate the authorization to send for reinforcements and the additional defenses.
An hour had passed and Brick and the others were ready. It was decided that the boys would raid the equipment from the shops while the girls secure the escape train when they arrive at the target station. Blossom was still unconscious so it was best that the girls did stay behind to watch her on the train. Brick carried Blossom gently onboard the train and laid her in a seat while the others went around to check the windows and doors of the train. They were all sealed tight and not a single crack could be found. As the others then got into position in their seats, close to each other, Brick used the remote trigger to open the tunnel seal and then operated the controls to drive the train northward. He pressed the remote again and sealed off their bunker as the train moved through the tunnel.
A zombie was chewing on a corpse in the subway station as the noises of an approaching train became louder. It looked up just as the train came to a stop. When the doors opened, a shot was heard and the zombie was knocked back, as the bullet hit the zombie right in between the eyes. Boomer ran forward with his pistol as he inspected the damage. "Wow…that was a pretty good shot, don't you think?" He laughed slightly as he shot the zombie in the head a couple times more, just to make sure it won't get up again. The blood was splattered all over the floor and on his shoes. Butch was feeling uneasy about the mission and gave Buttercup his shotgun and traded for her pistol. "Whatever happens, I want this to be on your side, to keep you safe." He said as he kissed her on the cheek. Brick smiled a little bit and said. "Don't worry girls, we'll be alright, I have an assault rifle for heavy artillery." The boys then ran for the steps as the girls closed the subway train's doors. Just in case, if the boys don't return within 30 minutes, they are instructed to return to the subway station bunker by themselves.
A small group of ZVES troopers were running through the streets, shooting down the zombies that were in their way. "Man, I hate this! I hate this!" A trooper yelled as he ran. "Quit you bellyaching, soldier!" His superior said as he reloaded his assault rifle. "If we didn't run into that zombie crowd, we wouldn'thave gotten cut off from our truck." Another trooper complained. The superior objected, saying the truck wasn't an option anyway, as they lost contactwith it a minute ago. Suddenly, several zombies surrounded them from behind, cutting off their escape. The stood back to back as they fended off the zombies. One of the zombies leapt high to pounce on the troopers, only to get shot in the head by a burst of assault rifle rounds. The troopers were shocked as the zombies in front of them were getting hit from behind. "Reinforcements! At last!" They exclaimed. But as the last zombie standing in front of them collapsed, they were surprised that their rescuers were not fellow ZVES troopers, but 3 young abnormal looking boys, two carrying a standard ZVES pistol, and the other with an assault rifle.
"Don't just stand there! Get over here!" Brick yelled to the group of troopers. As the ruffs provided cover, the troopers ran behind them and spun around to take care of the remaining zombies in that street. Just as the battle was briefly over, Brick loaded the last magazine he had. The superior of the group went over to Brick and greeted him. "Young man, where did you learn to shoot like that?" Brick noticed his rank and replied, "Well Sergeant, I learnt to shoot well because I am a Rowdyruff boy, our abilities require us to master marksmanship!" He replied as the troopers all let out a cry of surprise. "The Rowdyruffs, I thought they were a legend!" "The male guardians of this city, besides the Powerpuff girls!" After the brief introduction, the troopers gave the other boys a spare assault rifle each and a decent amount of ammunition. "It's not much, but it will help to have you on our side. We were separated from our armored squad, and before you got here, we thought we were cooked!" A corporal said after handing over to Brick 3 magazines he had saved up.
The armored choppers flew into range of the city and landed outside the quarantine line. As more reinforcements were dropped off, as well as more ammunition supplies, the duranium wall was set up around the outer perimeter of the fence, so the zombies would be disintegrated before they could try to scale the wall. Just then Commander Quinn got into one of the choppers and said, "I need a squad of the bravest and skilled men with me in this chopper. We're going to sector 5B, we're going to look for my brother!" Even though they knew that Major Quinn probably didn't make it, they followed their commander's wishes and boarded the chopper with him and flew into the city towards the wreck of armored truck 2B.
Feeling at better ease to have troopers by their sides, Brick led the group to the lab equipment shop. He was hoping they could find some vials of Chemical X in their storage. The ammunition shops were also nearby. Brick shoot the window of the lab shop and went in as the others stood guard outside. Brick rummaged around the cabinets in search of chemical X. He found several vials of antidote X, and a few vials of chemical X. "enough for all of us to regain our powers…great." He muttered as he pocketed the chemicals. He opened the last vial and downed the potion himself. "Just in case." He muttered. As he wiped his lips of the excess chemical, he did not notice that the undead store clerk was behind him. The clerk leapt at him and bit Brick in the arm. Brick just noticed and screamed in pain as the others rushed in and shot the zombie down. Immediately, Brick felt weaker as the virus began to overtake him. He knew the situation would only get worse. He was even more aware of some of his powers returned to him. "If I lose control, they will be doomed." He muttered as one of the troopers dressed his wound.
Brick reached quickly into his pocket and gave Boomer and Butch the other vials of chemical X. He then reached for the antidote X on the counter. But he was too late, as he collapsed on the ground, motionless. Butch went over to his brother and felt his cold neck. "No…Brick…this can't be…" Boomer said as Butch confirmed that their brother was dead. "Of a bite? It can't be!" Boomer said. It suddenly dawned on Butch when he found out why his brother gave him the chemical X and reached for the antidote X. Butch quickly grabbed the antidote X vials and told the men to quickly retreat towards the subway station with them. The corpse of Brick was not a safe thing to be near.
Just as the men ran down the steps of the subway, Brick opened his eyes. He sat up and his eyes were dark and bloodshot. No thoughts, no emotions could be found in his mind or on his face, only the look of pure hatred, blood lust, and eternal undead hunger. The undead ruff looked towards where the others have ran off and smelt the aroma of his living brother's wounded leg. The blood was still fresh. Brick growled as he stood up completely and hovered in the air momentarily. He let out a much darker beam of energy as his undead eyebeams evaporated the walls of the shop he had died in.
Butch was the last to run down the stairs as he looked back where his brother had died. Moments later, the shop exploded as a dark crimson beam was seen. "Damn! Hurry up!" Butch said as he quickly downed his vial of chemical X as he ran down the steps. As his powers were restored to him, he was able to move more easily as his leg healed rapidly. He grabbed as many of the fleeing men as possible and flew straight for the train. Buttercup opened the door right away and asked what had happened. "Brick's dead! No time to wait! Let's get outta here!" was all he said as he got all the other troopers aboard the train. Boomer had also downed his vial of chemical X as he boarded the train with his brother and sealed the door. Boomer ran for the driver's compartment and operated the train to start moving.
Buttercup wondered what had happened. How did Brick die so easily? And why were they fleeing in a hurry? She got her answer when she noticed a pale looking Brick, with a bloody bite mark on his left arm, floating down into the subway station. The train was just pulling out when Brick turned his gaze towards the empty space in the middle of the subway tunnel. Brick could no longer detect the fresh scent of Butch's wound, as it had healed completely. For now, Butch has thrown Brick off their scent, but for how long can they keep him away?
A/N: And this chapter is over. The worse nightmare has just happened to them. How can Brick be so careless? It was shocking on how fast his bloodstream accelerated the spreading of the virus to his body when the chemical x was restored. Now, not only are there thousands of zombies that were dangerous enough, but there was also an undead Rowdyruff lurking around, searching for prey. Stay tuned for chapter 5, "The worst fears"